The Dark of Dawn
by Astro-xXx-Boy
Summary: (Version 2) A 13-year-old girl by the name of Koby Tenma has a semi-normal life. It's a hundred years after Astro defeated the Peacekeeper, and since he mysteriously disappeared. It's up to Koby to find out what happened to him. But will she be able to figure it out, or die trying? AstroxKoby, GeoxKoby. Based on the 2009 movie.
1. School

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Astro Boy, but if I did, I would seriously make a second movie, and maybe a mini-series.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hey, guys! It's BAAAACK! I finally decided it was time to re-upload it, because no one would take it under their wing. I was just considering dumping in the recycle bin a few days ago, because I was cleaning my folders to make space for things I needed. But I thought better of it, obviously. As you can see, it's back! Another thing...this is going to be a little re-written than the first version, because I thought it was also time for a re-write. Anyways...here's The Dark of Dawn!

* * *

**Chapter 1: School**

The sun shone down brightly upon Metro City as the morning progressed. The citizens of Metro City walked the streets absentmindedly, humming to themselves as they made their ways to where they were meant to be. There were no clouds above Metro City, but there were a few small ones in the distance, drifting away from the city. Birds flew right past the city without a care in the world, tweeting the day away to their companions. Cleaning robots flew with some of the birds on their ways to their jobs to clean windows. A dog barked in the distance.

A man ran past, chasing after a dark brown dog, his arms outstretched. "Rugby, get back here!" he shouted, waving his hand in the air, leash in hand. A woman sat on a park bench, cradling her baby in her arms, cooing to it silently.

All in all, it was a peaceful morning.

A teenage girl sat in her room, sitting on her queen-sized bed, staring out the window with a heavy sigh. A few birds flew past her window, along with a few cleaning robots. A few of them stopped by her window to clean it, but once they were finished, they went on their way.

The girl had black hair gelled into two spikes; one was on the right side of her head, curved back like a shark fin, and the other was on the left side of her head, curving up like another shark fin. The blue bow in her hair glistened as the morning sunlight gleamed through her large window. Suddenly, she stood, looking down at her white t-shirt with a red stripe on the side. She brushed it off, as if dissatisfied with it. Leaning over to check her dark brown cargo jeans, she sighed again.

Sitting back down on her bed, she looked out the window once more as the sun rose higher into the sky. "Nothing interesting happens here…" she muttered to herself, looking down at the floor, leaning her head on her arms. "Not now, not ever…"

A knock sounded on her door, and she jumped, straightening herself out and looking towards her door. "Who is it?" she asked, her blue eyes blinking.

The door slid open, revealing a familiar figure. The girl sighed, returning to the window once more. "Koby?" her father called softly. "It's time for breakfast."

Koby glanced quickly in his direction, before returning her gaze outside. "I-I'm not all that hungry," she murmured.

He inched farther into the room, coming up to the bottom of her bed. "Nonsense! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," her father said, smiling. Finally gaining some more courage, he sat next to his daughter on her bed, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Besides, you need your energy for school today."

Her eyes flashed with emotion and she turned to him. "School?" Her eyes suddenly turned dark. "Who needs it? School's just for losers…"

"You're not a loser, honey."

"According to everyone else, I am…" she muttered, placing her head in her hand. Her eyes began to water as she thought about school.

Her father hugged her while she sniffled. "Koby, you are _not_ a loser. They only call you names like that, because they're jealous of you."

"Jealous of what?" Koby snapped, glaring at her father. Her father pulled away as she continued. "I'm _nothing_ to be jealous over!"

Her father sighed deeply, then got up, holding out his hand. "Come along, Koby. You need to get ready for school."

She hesitated for a moment, before wiping her tears on her arm, and silently took her father's hand. Once downstairs, Koby sat at her usual spot at the table and waited for her father to come in. He had gone back into his room for something. She sighed again, her eyes suddenly finding the table in front of her very interesting.

A plate full of breakfast food clanked down in front of her, and she looked up. Their house robot, Lanny, smiled down at her.

"Good morning, Master Koby," he greeted. She only huffed in reply, looking away. "Would you like some orange juice?"

Koby didn't look up, shaking her head side to side. "No, thanks, Lanny. I'm not thirsty." She forced a smile, turning towards Lanny.

Lanny didn't leave. "Is something the matter, Master Koby?" he asked.

"Nothing's wrong," Koby said flatly, turning away once again, losing her smile.

"I detect high stress levels. Are you _sure_ you're fine?"

"Everything's _fine_, Lanny. I'm fine," Koby answered, still not looking at him.

"Okay…" Lanny sighed, turning away and rolling back into the kitchen.

She scoffed under her breath, turning her gaze towards where Lanny rolled away. "Good day my—"

The door slid open quickly, and she jumped, cutting off her sentence. She sat straighter as her father walked into the room, forcing a smile on her face. "Koby, eat your breakfast," he ordered, pointing at it. "Lanny's going to take you to school today."

Her mouth gaped open, and her smile faded. "What? But—"

Her father put up a hand to stop her, and she closed her mouth, her heart still screaming inside. "No buts, Koby. I have to go to work early today." He walked over to the coat hanger, and grabbed his coat, pulling it on. "I suggest you eat fast and get ready soon. You know how tardy Lanny is."

Koby sighed, and turned towards her plate of eggs and toast. "Yes, Sir…"

He smiled, quickly grabbing the bagel off of his plate. "Good girl," he said with a smile, turning for the door.

Koby watched after her father as he left with a heavy heart. _He _always_ brings me to school…_ she thought to herself, her heart breaking. Sighing again, she began to dig into her breakfast as Lanny rolled by with car keys in his hands.

* * *

"Have a good day, Master Koby!" Lanny called from the car, waving after her as she walked up the long flight of stairs leading to her school. Quickly speeding off from the parking lot, Koby turned back towards the school—Metro City High School—with an ominous feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

_I don't think today's going to be normal…_ she thought to herself, looking around for her friends. She walked forward towards the front door, passing by dozens of students on her way. Still looking for her friends, she frowned. _Where are they? They're usually right by the fountain, waiting for me…_ Stopping next to the fountain, she frowned deeper. _Something's not right…_

Gripping her bright blue backpack tighter on her shoulders, she sat down on the fountain's edge, her head low. _Wonder where they are?_

"Hey, Moper-Koper!"

She heaved a sigh, and shut her eyes tightly, not wanting to look up. _They're gonna go away… They're gonna go away… _But her moment of security faded as a hand slammed down on her shoulder, making her jump.

"Ooh, someone's jumpy today," a voice sneered in her ear.

She shrugged the hand off of her shoulder, opening her eyes. "Leave me alone, Rhino," she sighed.

"Aw, is someone gwumpy too?" another voice cooed from behind Rhino.

Koby pinched the bridge of her nose, something that she did quite often around them. She looked up finally. Rhino was a 14-year-old boy who had messy brown hair and strange yellow eyes. He wore a gray t-shirt with a white stripe going along the side and blue jeans. Next to him was Nick, also 14-years-old. He had nice, clean-cut dirty blonde hair, but what was off about him was that his eyes weren't the same color. Once was a bright blue color, and the other was a golden-brown. He wore a yellow t-shirt with red splashes all over it, and navy-blue jeans.

"What's the matter, Koby?" Rhino sneered from beside his partner in crime. "Did someone have a bad dream last night? Ooh! Did you wet the bed, too?"

While Nick laughed, Koby's eyes flashed with coldness. "I didn't wet the bed!" she growled, eyes blazing.

"That's not what Legacy told us!" Nick laughed.

_What?!_ her head screamed. _Why would she tell them that lie?_ "What do you mean Legacy said that?" she asked, looking from Rhino to Nick, and back to Rhino.

"Oh, someone's anxious, hmm?" Rhino taunted, leaning into her face. "Does someone _really_ wet the bed?"

"Shut up!" she growled. "Where's Legacy?"

"She's in the commons," Nick said, smiling coldly.

Koby took one last glance at Nick's cold smile and strange eyes, and got up from the fountain to go into the school. _If Legacy told them something that's not true, then I'm going to give her a piece of my mind!_ she fumed inwardly. _If she did… I can't _believe_ one of my best friends would do that to me!_

She reached the commons after a while, and saw Legacy with her other best friend, Ailyn. They were sitting in the commons, chatting to one another with huge smiles on their faces. "Legacy? Ailyn?"

They both turned to her, both instantly stopping in their conversation. "Oh! H-hello, Koby!" Legacy stammered. Quickly looking to Ailyn, the blonde shrugged.

"Did you tell anyone any lies about me?" she asked in a flat tone, her fists curled up at her sides.

"No…"

"Funny! 'Cause they said you did."

"Who did?" Legacy asked.

"Rhino and Nick!" Koby fumed.

Legacy frowned, looking at Ailyn. "Um…no? I didn't say anything, and I'm pretty sure Ailyn didn't either. Why? What'd they say we said?"

Something in their eyes made her suspicious, but she kept it to herself. "They said that you told them I wet the bed."

Ailyn giggled, covering her mouth. Legacy's eyes narrowed. "And you believed them? Why do you even _think_ I would say something like that about you? You're my best friend!"

"I don't know…" she said with a sigh. "But…you're acting strange this morning! You didn't wait for me outside, and then when they came up to me and said that… I thought that you guys hated me!" she whisper-shouted.

Ailyn looked towards her. "We're not acting weird…"

"You sure act like it…" she muttered under her breath.

"Well, if you must know," Legacy started, placing her hands on her hips, "we were talking about boys."

Koby groaned, face-palming. "Aye…"

"You only live once," Legacy said, smiling, rolling her eyes.

The bell rang for class to begin, interrupting what Koby was about to ask. She groaned, heading for her first period class, saying a quick, "Goodbye," to her friends.

Entering the classroom, she slipped between the aisles, sitting at her desk. The blue screen illuminated, showing bright, white words that said, 'Good morning, Koby Tenma.' Sighing, she placed her bag on the floor next to her desk, and sat her head onto her hand.

"Okay, class! Time for that pop quiz that we've all been waiting for!" Mr. Loper, the teacher, said as he entered the classroom.

The room darkened, and the screens illuminated once more as questions appeared on them.

Pop Quiz 36.

Question 1: If you travel 28763.28 mph at a distance of—

BEEP. She pressed A, answering the question before she was done reading it.

Question 2: If there's 29862.18 cm's in—

BEEP.

Question 3: There's—

BEEP.

Question 4: This—

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Everyone looked up from their quizzes with shocked expressions, watching as Koby repeatedly pressed the buttons without taking so much as a second glance. 2 minutes passed of 50 questions, and she was finished.

The teacher looked at her and smiled as she stood, taking the clear USB out of the side of the desk. "All done, Koby?"

Koby nodded, coming up in front of the desk, handing in her results. "Yes, Sir. Can I go to the restroom?"

Mr. Loper nodded. "Uh…yes, yes. Go ahead."

She sighed mentally, leaving the classroom. After the door slid closed behind her, she leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the door, breathing in and out. _I hate being in that class. Everyone stares at me weird._ Removing herself from the wall, she headed down the hallway and towards the restroom. Entering it, she walked into a stall. Once she was finished, she exited the stall and stood in front of the mirror. Leaning against the counter, she looked at her reflection.

_Why does everyone hate me?_ she asked herself, sighing. _I'm no different from any of them… Except for maybe my hair and my intelligence._ She frowned, beginning to wash her hands.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something go into one of the stalls. She blinked, pausing in her washing. Shrugging it off after a while, she continued to wash her hands. Turning away from the sink to grab a towel from the automatic dispenser, she saw it again, coming out of the stall. Koby looked behind her, drying her hands slowly.

_What was that?_ she asked herself, her eyes widening with a sudden fear. Her eyes darted around the restroom as she edged slowly towards the door, one foot in front of the other. Throwing the towel in the wastebasket, she ran out of the door.

She gasped as soon as she left. A white mist floated in front of her. Shook with terror, she began to back towards the restroom door again. The mist surged forward, surrounding her. She screamed, but found that she couldn't anymore. _What the…?_

Suddenly, a voice sounded in her ear, and she froze in place. "Do not go to the Ministry of Science…" it whispered eerily.

And as soon as it was there, it disappeared. Koby looked around, breathing heavily. _What _was_ that?_ she asked herself. Hurrying back to the classroom, she entered the room, breathing heavily from her ordeal. Everyone looked up at her as she entered the room, their eyebrows raised.

"Is something wrong, Miss Tenma?" Mr. Loper asked her.

She glanced at him, and after a moment of hesitation, she shook her head. "Uh…n-no. Nothing's wrong." Walking over to her desk, she sat down. "Never mind." As soon as she sat, she shrank down to the very bottom of her seat, waiting for class to be over.

* * *

**Well, it's finished! The first chapter re-write. If you remember the first version, then you'll remember how I never explained what that weird thing in the bathroom was. Anyway...I hope you liked it! Chapter 2 will be up soon, just gotta re-write it and such...**

**Anyways...as planned before in the first version, there will be a very well-thought out 35 chapters. I hope you'll stick with it to the end! Thanks for reading, and please review. They make me happy. x3**


	2. The Ministry of Science

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hey, guys! Chapter 2 is up today. I think the re-write of this chapter went very smoothly. Anywho...I appreciate reviews, so pleaseeee review this story! It'll make me so much happier to write, knowing that this story has tons of fans...

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Ministry of Science**

She sat in the car, waiting for Lanny to get in the driver's seat to take her home. Once he opened the door, she sat down in the seat, buckling his seatbelt and adjusting his mirror. Looking back in the mirror at Koby, he smiled. "Are you comfortable, Master Koby?"

"Yes," she said, nodding.

"Seatbelt?"

"_Yes,"_ she said, drawing it out.

"Do you have everyth—?"

"Lanny! Yes! I have everything!" she shouted. Koby turned her head to look out the window as soon as Lanny started up the car.

Pulling away from the school, he looked back at her through the mirror. "Something's bothering you, Master Koby."

"Nothing's bothering me. I'm fine," she huffed, crossing her arms tightly, watching the blurred buildings rush by.

"That's not what your stress levels tell me," he voiced.

Koby glared at Lanny. "My stress levels are stupid," she hissed, her eyes narrowed.

"Something's obviously not right, Master Koby," the robot persisted.

"Fine!" she shouted, causing Lanny to swerve along the road. "If I tell you, will you shut it?"

There was a pause, and then the robot replied, "Yes."

"Okay." She sighed deeply, uncrossing her arms and looking at Lanny. "Today during the first class, I-I went to the restroom, and—"

"Did something happen, Master Koby?" Lanny asked. "Something important?"

"What? No! Nothing like that!" Koby shrieked. "I went to the restroom and when I got out of the stall, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I thought I imagined it…but…" She paused, swallowing hard. "When I left the bathroom, this mist…" She shut her eyes tightly, and sighed. "Never mind. It was probably just my imagination."

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing," Lanny replied, causing Koby to look up at the robot with dismay. "Your father told me to bring you straight home. He has important work with the president today."

She perked up automatically, curious. "Does it have anything to do with fighting?"

"No," Lanny replied.

"How about…playing games?"

"Uh-uh."

"Robots?"

Lanny didn't answer this one, his arms beginning to shake uncontrollably.

"AHA! I got it right, didn't I?" Koby said, pointing, a smile on her face. "I got it right!"

"Yes, Master Koby. But your father said—"

She scoffed, forgetting her thoughts from earlier. She unbuckled her seatbelt, coming right up behind Lanny in the driver's seat. She opened his back panel, beginning to mess with his wiring.

"Hey! What are you doing?" he shouted, causing the wheel to jerk back and forth as he tried looking back. "Stop—"

BING.

"Ministry of Science, here we come!" Lanny said with a weird smile on his face, his eye twitching. He swung the car around on the highway, heading the opposite way. Koby smiled as she watched from the backseat.

* * *

She left Lanny in the car while she ran up the stairs towards the building. Once inside, she immediately began the search for her father. Koby finally found him after a few minutes of searching, walking down the hallway all by himself, holding something in his hand. "Dad!" she called.

He jumped, almost dropping the object he had in his hands. Turning, he said, "Koby? What're you doing here? I thought I told Lanny to take you straight home!"

She rolled her eyes. "Dad! I wanted to see what you were doing, and—"

"And what, Koby? This is a grown-up job, not a kid's playtime."

"But dad—"

"Go back to the car, Koby. I know Lanny's parked here," her dad said. Koby's eyes began to water, and he gently set the object—a black box—on the ground and kneeled next to her. "Koby, honey…" he began. "I know it's hard, but you have to understand that my work is _very_ important. I need to do it so I can support our family—"

That set her off. _"Family? This_ is a _family?_ There's no mother! There's no brother or sister…or even a _pet!"_

He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Koby…I know Mother's gone and she's not coming back… But _we're_ a family. We work together on this stuff…right?"

She sniffled, looking down at the ground for a moment before turning her eyes back onto her father. She smiled. "I guess…"

He smiled and patted her head gently. "Good girl." He stood back up, grabbed the box, and looked her in the eyes. "Now, Koby, you go back to Lanny, okay?"

She nodded, smiling again. "Yes, Sir."

"See you at home, kiddo." And with that, he walked away.

She snickered to herself, losing her smile as soon as he was out of sight. "Now I get to follow him…" she murmured, following after her father, and staying behind him just enough so that he wouldn't notice her. He had gone into an elevator, so she took the stairs. He took a left with the right joining back into the center, so she took the right. Then, he entered a huge room guarded by two guards holding plasma rifles and wearing heavy armored suits.

"Dang it!" she muttered, looking away. "How do I get past them?" She smiled as a thought occurred to her. _I'll just act hurt! _"Ow!" she yelped, backing away from the hall and around the corner. She peeked around the corner, watching as the guards' heads snapped towards her cry.

"Did you hear that?" one asked the other.

"Let's check it out."

Rapid footsteps approached her, and she smiled. "Ow, ow!" She backed off and turned to run the other way, but didn't expect what was coming next. She ran headfirst into the guards. She gasped in shock. They had gone the other way than she had expected them to. She laughed mildly, looking up at the guards and waving her fingers. "Hi…"

"What are you doing here, kid?" the first guard asked.

Koby searched desperately in her mind for an excuse. "Uh…I was trying to get to the restroom, and I tripped…over nothing! And then I tried to walk away, but I ran into you guys!" She smiled, hoping they'd believe her.

"Nice try, kid, but we saw you running," the second guard grumbled, grabbing her shoulders. "And besides, the restroom's the other way." The guard began to haul her away from the room her father went into.

"Hey…aren't you Tenma's kid?" the first one asked, looking at Koby.

The second guard looked down at her. "Yeah, you may be right… You're Koby, right?"

Her eyes darted around. "Uh…no? My name is, um…" She looked around the hall, looking for something she could base her fake name off of. Her eyes laid upon a poster of test-tubes and beakers. "My name's Acid."

"Acid?" the first one echoed, looking at the other guard. Taken off guard, their hands slipped on Koby's shoulders, and she slipped right through their grasp. "Hey, stop!" the guard shouted as Koby ran towards the door. "Don't make me shoot off a warning shot!"

"Dud, she's just a kid!" the second guard gasped.

She ran around the corner and stopped, hiding there, panting for breath. Hearing footsteps approaching her, she desperately wished them to go the other way. And they did. "She went the other way, come on!" a guard said.

Just as the guards neared Koby's location, she slipped around the corner and went down the other hallway, running full sprint towards the large door. The door opened, and she peeked inside cautiously.

Inside, it was a huge observatory room. On one side, a large robot stood, unmoving. On the other a bunch of scientists stood and sat, not taking their eyes off of the panels in front of them. Looking around more, she noticed a bunch more guards surrounding a tall man and a short man, one in a suit, and the other in a general's outfit.

Looking back towards the end of the room, she began to observe the large robot more closely. It looked like a huge gorilla, with a small head and a large body. Instead of hands, it had large guns, and its feet were wide. There was a compartment sitting in the middle of its chest, and Koby rose an eyebrow. _I wonder what that's for._

"Whoa…" she breathed, stepping into the room carefully, hiding behind a pillar.

"Load the Silver Core," her father ordered.

_Silver Core?_ she thought to herself, thinking back to the history book that she read earlier that day. Then, suddenly remembering, she tensed. _Didn't Astro Boy have a Core? And didn't the Peacekeeper also…?_ Her thoughts broke off and she looked at the robot once more. Her brain clicked and her eyes widened. _Is this…history…repeating itself?_

"No, no, the Silver Core is supposed to be all sweetness and light," the man in the suit—which Koby thought to be the president of Metro City—said. "Load the gold one. We'll get more bang for our buck using that one."

_Okay, this is weird…_ Koby thought as she watched.

Her father sighed and looked at the president. "Sir, that thing's dangerous. You'd be best off using the silver one."

"Tenma, do as I say!" he shouted, pointing at the ground with every word.

Koby shrank back from the man. She didn't like him. He scared her.

Her father looked to the president and sighed, sitting back down and using a joystick to move the robot across the room to the Gold Core. The robot picked up the Core and loaded it into its center.

"Core loaded," the large robot said, its eyes glowing gold.

"Activate the drones!" the man in the general suit ordered. Koby watched as the man took a stance. He was all stiff looking, like a plank of wood. She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand to muffle it.

A guard turned his head towards her, and she immediately stopped laughing, her heart pounding in her ears. He took a step towards her, and it seemed to echo across the room.

Suddenly, all you could hear were popping sounds as the drones were sent into mock battle with the gorilla robot. As they came into contact with the robot, shooting at it, the robot sent off large shots from its arms.

Koby admired the robot now, wondering what would happen next. Her eyes widened with wonder as she watched the robot fire at the drones. The robot stopped firing for a moment, and you could see it was…sucking something into it?

She blinked a few times, trying to see if her mind was playing tricks on her. But it wasn't. It was _really_ sucking a drone into its metal body. Just as the drone hit its body, its eyes turned bright gold, and it turned against its comrades.

"What's happening there?" the president asked.

"It's called adaptive technology. It can absorb and control anything," a short scientist with white hair told the man.

She stepped out from behind her pillar, running up to another closer one, all the scientists' eyes trained on this piece of history. Just as the robot sucked in more drones, it turned quickly and shot at the general's head. Luckily, the man ducked down just in the nick of time, the shots hitting the wall behind him. Everyone's eyes were wide.

"It's the Peacekeeper all over again!" a guard shouted, his hands on his face.

"Oh, shut up! You weren't even born yet."

Just then, the giant robot started to run towards them. Koby watched as it ran past her…and into a giant, see-through shield.

She was trapped with the robot on the other side of the protection screen.

She gasped, running out and pounding on the glass. "Dad! I'm over here! Please, get me out! Help!"

Her father looked to the sudden muffled shouts, and his eyes widened. His daughter was trapped behind the shield with the rampaging robot. "Koby! No!" He pounded on the open button, but it wouldn't budge.

"Dad! Help!" Koby yelled, tears streaming down her face. "I don't wanna die!" Just then, her thoughts zoomed back to at school, where the strange mist warned her not to go to the Ministry of Science today. Her heart snapped in two, as her father came over to her on the opposite side of the glass. She would never see him again.

"It's going to be okay, Koby. I'm going to get you out!" he said, his eyes wide with terror.

Tears were streaming down her face as she placed her hands onto where his hands were on the other side of the glass. "I love you…" she whispered. Her father sat motionless, speechless, his eyes wide with terror.

Just then, a gold light enveloped her father's face, and she looked behind her to see the robot was getting ready to destroy the shield. Knowing that if you fired a weapon at something that wouldn't budge, the people or anything trapped on the other side would also get hurt. "DAD!" she screamed, turning back to him.

"KOBY!" her father yelled.

FLASH!

And then, Koby was gone.

"NO!" Tenma shouted.

The robot—seeing as how its earlier attempt didn't work—absorbed the shield then, taking a step towards the opening. "Fire!" the president ordered. The guards all began to fire their plasma rifles at the robots, and it stepped back with shock.

Tenma looked around, and his eyes lay upon the Silver Core's power cord. He picked it up, unplugged it, and hauled it towards the robot, shoving it deep into its center. The robot shrieked, silver and gold electricity showering around it. It flew back, and Tenma dropped the cord. The robot powered down, the drones flying off of its body.

Then, the shield finally flew up.

Tenma hesitantly walked over to the other side. His heart skipped a beat, and he gasped. There lying in front of him was Koby's blue bow. "Koby…" he cried softly, falling to his knees and picking up the bow in his hands. "Why did you have to follow me…?" He began squeezing the bow next to his heart, crying softly.

The man with white hair gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Tenma…"

The man sobbed softly, squeezing the blue bow tightly as the little girl he once knew as his daughter vanished from the face of the Earth.

* * *

**Chapter 2 is finally done! I took a break from it yesterday, because I was also trying to finish my drawing up. But anyway...I do hope on drawing all the characters in this story. So...keep a lookout for that. My DeviantART profile is up on my Fanfiction profile. Just so ya know...**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it! Chapter 3 will be up whenever. Please review!**


	3. Reborn

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Here's Chapter 3! I hope you like it. I know it may be the same scenes from the movie, but I blame the movie, because it's just too awesome. Anyway, lots of things are different after the building teh robot scene. Hope you like it!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Reborn**

It was night. Everyone was going about their night shifts or sleeping. But one man hadn't slept for days. Koby's father was determined to have his daughter back. So determined in fact that he had decided to make a robot from her. A robot replica based on her whole being.

He opened his blueprints, scanning over them with his eyes, looking for any minor details that he missed that could mess up the whole design. He smiled, noting that his excellent eyesight hadn't missed a thing. A clunking noise sounded behind him, and he turning, noticing that three scientists were standing there, one pushing a large cart over to him. It was full of missiles and rocket fuel. Tenma hurried over to it, picking up two missiles and setting them onto the table beside his creation.

He pressed a button above his head, turning on a huge laser way above the table. As it fired, it began to cut through the missiles, taking off the very ends of them. He turned to the three scientists after cutting through the missiles. "Thank you for your help. You may leave now."

The three scientists nodded in understanding, seeing that Tenma didn't want to be disturbed with his project anymore. He turned back to his creation, looking at it and smiling a weak, sad smile. His brain clicked as he almost forgot something. Something that was so vital, that the robot couldn't live like he wanted it to without it: Koby's DNA.

He ran over to a container on the opposite side of the room, holding her blue bow. Pressing a button on the side, he freed the bow, picking it up in his hands. He took the tweezers from beside the container, and carefully picked up the only hair on the bow. Below the original container, he placed the black hair in a different container on the control panel. He waited patiently as it scanned the hair.

Flashes came from behind him, and he turned, noticing that all of Koby's memories were popping up all over the table. He smiled, watching all of her memories, starting from when she was born to when she played board games with him. He turned to the left slightly and saw his wife, Koby's mother. Her and Koby were riding in the car, laughing. He looked away from the memory for a brief moment, emotions threatening to swamp over him.

"It's a good thing I deleted the memories from after school the day she…" he broke off, beginning to choke up.

The memories overhead disappeared and began to scan onto the robot's brain. The large door slid open slowly, and Tenma whipped his head towards it. _I swear, if it's those scientists…_ His thoughts broke off as a man with white hair appeared, carrying a suitcase in one hand. He hurried inside, as if in a hurry. "Dr. Foster…you came," Tenma said with a smile.

Dr. Foster smiled and set the suitcase up onto the table. "I couldn't refuse your offer."

"Did you bring what I asked?" Tenma asked, eyes wide.

Foster began to open the suitcase. "Yes, Tenma." The suitcase opened, and a bright white light shone onto both of their faces. Tenma's face brightened up instantly, picking up the Core gently in his hand.

"I can't guarantee what effect the Core will place over this robot, but—"

"It will be perfect!" Tenma said, pulling the Core away from Foster's hands. He looked up as the skin scanner whirred to life, watching as the scanner printed Koby's body. The scanner gave her black boots, a pair of black shorts with a white strap, a white undershirt, and scanned her hair onto her head. Two spikes: one on top, and on the bottom, both curled up like shark fins. _Just how she always loved it…_ Tenma thought, memories and emotions surging forward.

Koby never wore any girly things, except for the blue bow he had gotten her for her twelfth birthday. He shook himself mentally, and opened the compartment right above her fake undershirt, placing the Silver Core inside. He shut the door, and waited.

Foster and Tenma stepped back as wires fell from the ceiling, picking the robot up and bringing it into the air. It hung for a moment, before it began to whir to life, white energy bolts surrounding it. White lightning struck out of the robot, hitting the control panel behind Foster and Tenma. They looked away from the bright light.

WHOOSH!

SLAM!

THUD!

Tenma looked up and saw that the robot was lying on the ground, unmoving. It had crushed the table below it while falling. Both he and Foster stood there, waiting to see if something would happen.

The robot's hand moved back, and Tenma's heart skipped a beat. The robot propped itself up with one hand, picking up its head and looking at the two of them. Its eyes were a gentle silver as it began to focus in on the two men in front of it. It closed its eyes for a brief second, before opening them back up to reveal gentle, sky blue eyes. "D-Dad?" the robot said in Koby's exact voice.

Tenma's heart leapt with joy as the robot stood up and began to wobble over to him. "Whoa…whoa…" She looked up. "Dad!" Falling into Tenma's arms, he hugged her tightly, her hugging him back. "I had the strangest dream! I—"

"It was just a dream, honey," Tenma soothed, picking up his daughter and walking off towards the large door.

Koby looked back at the white-haired man and waved to him with a smile. "Bye, Dr. Foster."

He was so taken aback by Tenma's creation he didn't notice she had said something until she was by the door. "Uh…b-bye, Koby!" He waved a few times as the door slid shut behind Tenma and Koby.

* * *

Sunlight shone on her face, and she blinked open her eyes, opening them to a bright new morning. She sat up, rubbing her eyes from sleep and looked down at the edge of her bed. "Dad? What are you doing?"

Her father was squatting on the floor, his head asleep on her mattress. She gasped as drool started to fall out of her mouth.

"Dad!" she whisper-shouted. Her father jolted awake, taking his slobber with him. She sighed with relief.

Tenma gasped softly, a smile broadening on his face. "Good morning, Koby! How do you feel?"

She looked away. "Um…am I _supposed_ to feel weird today?" she asked, looking back at her father.

Tenma smiled and stood up, coming over to sit on the side of her bed. "No, Koby, I was just asking."

"Oh, that's good, 'cause—" She broke off as her father suddenly hugged her. After a brief hesitation, she hugged him back. "Uh…are _you_ feeling okay?"

Her father pulled back, clearing his throat, standing up and wiping his clothes off. "Uh, yes. I'm feeling just fine, Koby." He headed for her door. "Get ready. You have school."

She smiled. "Okay."

Tenma glanced back quickly at his daughter, surprised by her sudden goodness. She was never like that; she always had a snappy remark. But that was just what made Koby, Koby. She always joked around with her comments. He blinked, looking down for a moment, but then returned to walking out of her room.

Koby followed her father out of her room, noticing that she had another pair of brown cargo jeans on, a white t-shirt with a black stripe down the side, and black boots. She frowned, looking down at the boots. She didn't own any boots. She always wore shoes. Black shoes.

"Hmm…" she murmured out loud, scratching her head. "Odd…" She shrugged it off and continued downstairs, thinking that her father had just bought her the boots the other day, and that she couldn't remember.

She headed downstairs and into the kitchen, seeing her father already sitting there. He was eating his breakfast, actually eating it. Koby smiled. "You're eating breakfast with me, Dad?"

He jolted, swinging around with half an egg falling out of his mouth and onto the floor. He sighed, finished chewing, and looked back at his daughter. "Yes, Koby. Take a seat and eat your…breakfast."

Koby raised an eyebrow when he hesitated, but shrugged it off, sitting down at her usual spot. She began to dig into her eggs on her plate, placed there by Lanny, no doubt.

A sudden scream made her and her father look up suddenly. Lanny stood there, frozen. He had dropped the tray he was carrying onto the floor, staring straight at Koby.

"Uh, Lanny, are you feeling okay?" Koby asked the house robot.

His movements were jittery as he rolled up to her. "It _can't_ be you! I must be malfunctioning! Wires crossing? You're—" He looked at her, and his eyes suddenly turned blue.

Koby blinked as she realized he was scanning her. She giggled. "Lanny, stop it. I'm fine. What are you talking about?"

His eyes widened. "You're…you're—" His eyes darted to Tenma, and he gave the robot a stern look. Lanny shrank back, glancing at Koby once more. "You're, uh…looking good this morning… Are those new boots?"

Koby paused, looking down at the boots. "Uh…I'm actually not really sure. I don't remember buying any—"

"Okay, Koby. Time for school," her father interrupted her. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You'll be late."

"I haven't even finished eat—"

"You'll be late," he interrupted again, standing up and brushing himself off. "Lanny, pick up this mess—the floor, too." He gave him a look that said 'now'.

The house robot jumped and got right to cleaning. "Yes, Sir!" he replied, his voice trembling. He began to clean the mess on the table, the floor, and the one he'd recently made.

"And bring Koby to school, will you?" Tenma asked, walking out the door without another word.

"Yes, Sir," Lanny called to him. Tenma didn't hear it, because he was in another room. The robot then hurried into the kitchen, the mess already gone.

Koby just stared at the door where her father had gone. He was _sure_ acting strange this morning, and she didn't know why. She shrugged it off again, and turned to Lanny as he entered the room once more.

"Are you ready, Master Koby?" the robot asked, car keys in hand.

She smiled. "Just 'Koby' is fine, Lanny." She grabbed her blue backpack and left the room.

Lanny almost dropped the car keys, his arms shaking. "I am so _freaked!"_ he muttered.

* * *

Lanny dropped her off at school, speeding off back towards home. Koby sighed, tightening her grip on her backpack. _Great…another boring day of 'learning'…_ She already knew mostly everything that the school had to offer her. It was even hard to believe why she was still at school at all. She would rather be home-schooled than go to school with all the bullies and—

"Koby!"

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shout coming from the left of her. She turned towards the shout, and saw her two best friends coming across the courtyard from the fountain. They ran up to her quickly. "Hey, guys!" she said, smiling.

Legacy paused in front of her. "Well, _someone's_ cheery this morning," she said, clearly confused.

"We have to ask you something!" Ailyn said, breathless.

"What? What's going on, guys?" Koby asked, clueless as to what they were going to ask her.

Ailyn opened her mouth, but Legacy beat her to it. "Where've you been for the past week and a half? You missed, like, everything!"

Koby was shocked. _"W-what?"_ she asked, mouth dropped open.

"Yeah, you've been gone for almost two weeks! Were you on vacation? Where'd you go? The Surface? Can't imagine you wanted to go there… Why were you gone?" Ailyn bombarded her with questions.

"Whoa, whoa…whoa," Koby calmed her friend, closing her eyes for a second before opening them again. "I've been gone for two weeks?"

"_Almost,"_ Ailyn corrected.

Koby smiled at her. "I haven't been gone. I'm was right here."

"Where was right here, Koby?" Legacy asked.

Koby looked to the ground slowly, realizing that she didn't know. "I-I…I don't know."

The bell rang, and their conversation got interrupted… Koby waved to her two friends before heading off to her first period. _That was weird…_ she thought to herself. _Something's not right. Is this why people have been strangely? First my father, next my two best friends? Obviously something's up. _She blinked as she entered the room, a thought occurring to her. _Did I…lose my memory for the past two weeks? _She tried to think back two weeks ago, but all she could remember was leaving school.

_Strange…_ she thought to herself as she sat in her desk. Her desk scanned her DNA, blipping as it read 'Good morning, Koby Tenma'. She sighed again, as was normal tradition at the mention of her name. She didn't really like it, but she guess her father wanted a reminder of someone in the family. Someone her father had told her about plenty of times: Toby Tenma.

He had died in the Ministry of Science, obliterated by the Peacekeeper. His father had went on a rant and made a robot copy of him. This robot was the far most advanced robot ever created. His name was Astro.

Astro had disappeared six months after the battle with the Peacekeeper and the alien. No one knows what happened to him, or where he went. Everyone thought he had died.

Koby thought otherwise. She thought that he was hiding. Hiding somewhere where it was peaceful and no one would ever bother him. Where nothing was ever tempted to bother him.

She smiled at the thought, but her thoughts were broken as the teacher called to the students. "Good morning, students! Today, we're studying—" Mr. Loper broke off, staring in front of him. Koby realized he was staring at her. "Oh! Why, hello, Miss Tenma! So good of you to join us again!"

She raised an eyebrow, but nodded, smiling. "It's good to be back."

Mr. Loper was clearly flabbergasted by her cheery behavior, but he blinked, continuing with his lecture. But Koby wasn't listening. She was thinking about the only day she had remembered besides today. She was in school…and she had gone to the restroom…and she saw that weird mist, warning her not to go to the Ministry of Science. _I wonder if—_

Her thoughts were broken as the teacher made her jump. "Koby! The teacher called. "I asked you a question."

"Uh…what? Oh, sorry, Mr. Loper," Koby said. There were some giggles from the other students.

Mr. Loper sighed. "I said…do you know the terms of—"

"Terms of the D-Class Interceptor, underlying deployment-to-target systems?" she finished, making the teacher blink and the students look at her with blank stares.

"Uh…y-yes. Continue," the teacher stammered.

She smiled, explaining to the teacher just exactly what it was. He blinked again. "Well, uh…yes! Good job, Koby." She beamed at his praise and went throughout the day like normal.

Almost the end of the day, she had gym class. Groaning inwardly, she sighed. Koby hated P.E. class so much, and it began to dawn on her that maybe this day was going to be weirder than normal.

She entered the gym, and immediately realized she was late. "Uh…" she started as the teacher, Mr. Keel, looked at her with a stern expression. "I'm sorry, Mr. Keel."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Miss Tenma!" he grunted. "Drop and give me twenty right now!"

She groaned and dropped to the floor, the students giving her little giggle fits as she pumped her arms to do push-ups. But then, in the middle of the thirteenth push-up…she couldn't feel any muscle burn. None at all.

She stopped, sitting up and looking up at Mr. Keel. He just gave her a look. "Why'd you stop, Miss Tenma? You tired? If you're tired, you can just have a detention, instead."

She slowly shook her head, twirling her arms around to look at them. _Why don't I feel anything?_ "Uh…I'm not sure what's happening here…"

"Miss Tenma, are you going to finish your push-ups, or would you like the detention?" Mr. Keel growled.

"I-I don't feel anything," she breathed, her eyes wide. She looked up at him. "I can't feel anything, Mr. Keel!"

Mr. Keel raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean you can't feel anything?"

The kids in the gym started to murmur amongst themselves. Koby knew they were talking about her. She could just feel it. "I-I can't feel anything! I don't feel the muscle burn, or anything!"

"That's not normal…" Mr. Keel said, placing his hand on his chin. He shrugged it off. "Koby, you don't have to go to detention, okay? I'll talk to the office, see if we can call your father about this problem, okay?"

Koby nodded, looking down at the ground with sudden interest as she began towards the other end of the gym. She joined all the other kids on the wall. She didn't notice where she was lining up, however, and she jumped as a familiar voice hissed in her ear.

"Hey, Moper-Koper! Long time no talk!" Rhino said, laughing sinisterly.

"Stop calling me that," she muttered, looking away from the voice, only to notice the shoes of Nick on the opposite side of her. She was surrounded. She glanced up into his odd eyes. "Go away."

"You gonna make us?" he sneered.

She sighed, staring straight ahead. "Just leave me alone."

Nick was about to snide another comment, but Mr. Keel blew his whistle. "Okay, class! We're playing dodgeball today. The captains are Nick and Tammy."

Nick smiled, laughing coldly, walking up next to the teacher. A girl with blonde hair and big, brown eyes stood on the other side of the teacher.

"Pick your teams," Mr. Keel said, waving his hand. "Nick goes first."

Koby sighed. She knew Nick wouldn't pick her. He wanted to kick her butt at everything, so it would always make sense to put her on the opposite team.

"Rhino," he said, smiling at his bully friend. Rhino walked up to Nick, and they began to snicker in each other's ears.

"Um…Pepper," Tammy said. A girl with black hair and brown highlights walked up, standing next to her.

It went on and on like this.

"Kenny."

"Iona."

"Lanx."

"Wesley."

"Connor."

"Griffin."

"Emily."

Tammy looked to the only option left: Koby. Her eyes looked hopeless, like she knew that they had already lost. "Koby…" she sighed.

Koby walked over silently to stand next to Tammy, rubbing her arm nervously.

Mr. Keel blew his whistle again. "Okay. Dodgeball!" He threw the balls into the center of the room. Nick's team hurriedly scrambled towards them. Nick grabbed the green center ball, aiming it straight for Koby. He smiled coldly and laughed heartlessly, whipping the ball at Koby. It was going at least ninety mph.

Koby winced as the ball came straight towards her, closing her eyes tightly. After about four seconds of wondering, she opened her eyes. She looked down and noticed that the green ball was in her hands. She hadn't moved an inch from where she stood. She looked back at Nick, both of their faces a complete dumbfounded O.

"I-I…I…" Nick stuttered, his eyes wide with shock. "H-how?"

"Nick, you're out!" Mr. Keel shouted, blowing his whistle.

Nick growled with frustration, whispering something in Rhino's ear as he passed by the boy. Sitting on the bench, he watched with cold eyes. Rhino's eyes shone with a newfound determination.

"You're going down, Tenma!" Rhino shouted, picking up two balls in his hands. He threw the first one, and then the second came barreling right after the first.

Koby dropped the other ball, grabbing the first one out of the air, and the other one in her other hand.

"Uh-oh…" Rhino muttered, eyes wide. Koby laughed, chucking one ball with all her might at Rhino. The ball hit the boy, hitting him square in the chest. His breath was knocked out of him as he flew back a few feet.

"Uh… Rhino, you're out!" Mr. Keel shouted, blowing his whistle yet again.

Koby smiled to herself, looking down at her arms. "I'm stronger than I thought…!" she murmured to herself.

* * *

***Twiddles fingers* Koby's beginning to figure out her powers, muahahahahh... lol ANYWAY, I drew Koby! the link for my deviantart profile is on my Fanfiction profile, shes in my gallery. I hope you liked this chapter!  
**

**Please review! They make me happy!**


	4. A New Discovery

**Author's Note:** I was bored yesterday, so I thought I'd write another chapter! Yaaay! It's off hiatus! :33 I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter! I promise I'll have another chapter up by either tomorrow or the next day.

* * *

**Chapter 4: A New Discovery **

Gym class was about to end and so far, Koby's team was winning, thanks to her sudden outburst of strength and agility. Mr. Keel blew the whistle and everyone paused in their tracks. "Alright! It's time to end the game. Tammy's team wins."

Everyone dropped the dodgeballs and sighed with relief, but Koby didn't drop her ball. She wanted revenge on Rhino and Nick for always bullying her. She wanted to play more. She wanted to _win._ With a sudden outburst of feelings, she also wanted to get Mr. Keel back for all the times that she was late and he made her do push-ups in front of everyone and humiliate herself. She placed her hands firmly on the ball. Everyone in the room was paying attention to Mr. Keel as he described what they were going to do for class next week. All she heard was something about hoverball, which was like old-time baseball, but in the sky on a hovering field. Koby loved to play hoverball.

She tossed the ball into her other hand and aimed for the teacher. Just as the kids were dispersing to go get their stuff and wait for the final bell, Koby threw the ball, hitting him square in the back. Mr. Keel let out a surprised, "Oof!" and fell forward onto his stomach. Everyone in the room turned their attention to the teacher in silence, and then looked back at Koby. She laughed nervously, taking a few cautious steps backwards.

Mr. Keel slowly got up and rubbed the back of his neck, turning around with fire in his eyes. He was mad. "Who did that?!" he shouted. There was a silence, and then he turned his blazing gaze in Koby's direction. But as she stared more, she realized that he wasn't staring at her. He was staring past her…straight at Nick. "Nick?! Was that you?! You little…! _Detention!"_ he yelled.

Nick's eyes widened. "Wh-what?! I didn't do anything! It was Koby!" he defended, pointing at her.

Mr. Keel was furious. "Do _not_ blame it on Koby! You have a detention the first thing Monday morning!" he shouted. "Now everyone, out of my sight! Out!"

Koby giggled as she passed Rhino and a distraught Nick. _Serves them right,_ she thought. As she passed the bullies, they glared after her with a look of complete hatred. Koby squeaked in terror and hurried out the door as the final bell rang, and out the main entrance.

She stood out by the road, waiting for Lanny to pick her up from school and bring her home. But as she sat waiting for ten minutes, she sighed. _He's never this late…_ she thought as she stared down the road where Lanny would come from. Then, all of a sudden, she got a sudden feeling of dread and froze up. _Why do I not want to turn around?_ Slowly and hesitantly, she began to turn around. As soon as Koby turned, she was instantly pushed backwards, landing on her back. Rhino and Nick stood over her with blazing eyes.

"You think you're tough now? Huh, Tenma?" Nick nearly shouted. "Well, we're going to teach you a lesson in tough." Nick slammed his fist into his left fist with a smile of glee on his face.

Koby's eyes widened in terror, quickly scrambling to her feet and backing away from the duo. "N-now guys…I-I didn't really mean to… I never—" She broke off, realizing that she really did mean to have her revenge on them. "Uh…"

"Yeah, you are _so_ getting it!" Rhino shouted, raising his fist.

"Ahh!" Koby screamed, running away back towards the school, leaving her bag behind. She barely managed to get away from Nick's fist as she hurried back inside the building. Running as quickly as she could up the stairs, she hurried towards the third floor of the school. Turning, she saw that Rhino and Nick were close behind her. _Go, go, go!_ Koby willed herself, pushing faster on the ground underneath her. A few seconds later, Koby looks behind her to see where they were, but realized that they were nowhere in sight. She couldn't have run _that_ fast…could she?

Turning her head back around, she screamed. She had almost run off the edge of the building. She hadn't even realized that she had gone up so high.

"She's gonna pay!" Rhino's voice shouted from inside the stairwell.

Koby began to panic and turned back around to stare down at the ground. _Okay, in this situation, I have two options. One, get pounded by bullies, or two, jump off the building and hope I survive…which I probably won't survive either._ Glancing sideways, she saw Rhino and Nick emerge from the door. Koby squeaked in terror and began backing up from the bullies. Without realizing, Koby's foot slipped, and she began to fall off the roof, screaming. Koby's left hand grabbed onto the edge of the roof, and she looked down at the ground in horror. _Please don't fall…please don't fall…_

Looking up, Koby saw Rhino and Nick peer over the edge. Rhino smiled down at her with glee, but Nick looked somewhat concerned, his eyes wide. "Well, well! Looks like someone's gonna take a dive!" Rhino sneered.

"Dude, quit it! She's gonna fall off the roof! No one can survive that fall," Nick replied, glaring at his partner in crime.

"Well, since she thinks she's so tough, I bet she _could_ survive this fall!" Rhino laughed. "It'd probably feel like two feet to her!"

"Rhino, that drop is sixty feet!" Nick panicked.

Rhino glanced back at his buddy and frowned. "Who's side are you _on?!"_

Koby's fingers began to slip from the edge, and she let out a little scream, looking below her. She swallowed nervously, her head spinning. _Stupid vertigo!_

Rhino began laughing, bringing his foot up onto Koby's fingers. Surprisingly, Koby felt the pain. _I…I can feel again!_ she thought, but then slowly realized that her fingers were hurting badly. _Okay, not so cool…_

"This is for today, Tenma. See ya _never!"_

And with that, Rhino stomped on her fingers and she began her fall to her death.

_I'm sorry, Dad!_ she began, her eyes closed. _I'm sorry everyone! I don't mean to be so mean to you! I'm sorry!_ But as she waited for her impact, none ever came.

No impact.

No pain.

No death.

Koby slowly opened her eyes, quickly realizing that she had stopped mid fall – or so she thought. Did she land on the ground on her feet? Safe? Koby looked below her, and her smile faded, replaced with a look of complete and utter horror.

Her feet were on fire.

"AHHH!" she shouted, flailing her arms. "AHHHH!" While flailing her arms, she began to float upside down. "Whoa!" She flew quickly upside down and back up. "Wh-what…?" She looked down at her feet again. "I-I… I'm…_flying?"_ She couldn't believe her eyes. Her boots were rockets, and she was floating in the air.

_But…I don't own any boots…_ she thought, remembering this morning. _Are these—?_ But she didn't finish her thought.

"Whoa!" she shouted as the rockets went straight to the right, away from the building. Hitting the side of the Lera factory – which made some brands of flying cars – she huffed. Looking down, she realized that her feet were facing down and she was lodged in the side of the factory. _How did I not break any—? _Again, her thought was cut off as the rockets turned back on, and she flew straight upwards into the sky. "AHHH!" she screamed, willing herself to stop as she flew up higher and higher.

As if her prayers were answered, her rockets turned off. She sighed with relief, but then her eyes widened as she began falling towards the ground. _Crap!_ she shouted to herself as she free-fell towards the factory. _Turn back on! Turn back _on!she willed. With a _putt_, the rockets turned back on, and she flew straight through the air.

_Oh, thank you!_ she thought, smiling. But her smile faded as she flew straight into a tunnel. Slowly, she realized that it was the Amtrak tunnel. "Crap!" she shouted out loud. The train's whistle blew through the tunnel and the light approached her very fast – probably also because she was traveling close to the same speed that the train was. She squeezed onto the very side of the tunnel, her eyes squinted as the train blew past.

Exiting the tunnel, she began flying on a diagonal angle up into the sky. Smiling, she began to laugh as she gained more control over her strange rockets that appeared out of nowhere. A thought came to her and she looked up into the sky. Turning abruptly, she sped towards the clouds up in the sky. Once at their height, Koby began flying through the clouds, feeling the wetness of the puffy blankets as they washed over her face.

She twirled through the air, laughing and smiling. Koby had always dreamt of flying, but then again…hasn't everyone? Just the thought of being in the air with all the clouds in the sky is a dream to anyone, but actually living it was a different tale. You could feel the winds blowing gently on your face as you sped through the sky, the smell of the fresh air, and the winds as they whipped through your hair…

She paused, hovering in the air. Hair…why didn't she feel the wind through her hair? She frowned and brought her hand up to her hair, noticing that it was somewhere close to hard as a rock. She frowned deeper – if possible. _Did…did I use too much hair spray?_ she asked herself, feeling her hair once more._ Or…is something…?_ She broke off the thought and shook her head. "Just too much hair spray…" she murmured.

She started forward once more and flew through more clouds, making it seem so easy to do; so possible to do. Koby loved flying. It made her feel so carefree…

Koby looked straight down and smiled as she saw her house. _Should I go home?_ she asked herself. Koby shook her head. _If Lanny didn't pick me up from school, then he's gotta be at the Ministry with Dad._ She smiled and laughed to herself as she continued to fly through the clouds as the sun began to set on Metro City.

* * *

Koby gently landed on the patio to her home, leading straight into her room. She smiled. Today had been very exciting for her. She discovered that she was stronger than she looked, faster than she thought, and she could fly! Heading inside, Koby shut the glass door behind her.

"…Home?"

Koby turned her head towards the voice, and she realized that there were people home. She hurried down the stairs and peeked around the corner silently, seeing her father and Lanny come into the living room. Her father threw his coat onto the arm of the couch and his suitcase on the left side, plopping down next to it with a sigh. Lanny rolled in afterwards, shaking slightly.

"Sir…I-I asked if…if maybe…do you think Master Koby made it home?" Lanny asked.

Tenma looked up at Lanny, his eyes dull with tiredness. "Of course, Lanny. Don't be so worried all the time. We don't live _that_ far away from Metro City High. She could've walked or taken the Amtrak home."

"But…" Lanny broke off and sighed. Suddenly, his sensors beeped, and he looked up suddenly, turning to look straight at Koby. "Oh! Master Koby! You're home."

Tenma looked towards where Lanny was smiling at and saw his daughter coming down from the stairs, peeking around the corner curiously.

She smiled. "Dad! Guess what happened today?"

Her father smiled, but it was forced, and Koby's smile slowly faded. "What, dear?"

"I-I…" She broke off, coming into the room more, her hands timidly in front of her. "I flew…today…" She looked her father in the eyes. "These boots…they're rockets, Dad!"

Her father looked at Koby serenely, almost sadly, before he replied, "Koby, it's time for you to go to bed."

"But…Dad—"

"Go to bed, Koby."

She frowned and sighed, turning around and heading back up the stairs. With another look back at her father, she finished up the rest of the stairs and hurried into her room. _I'll just ask him tomorrow…_ she thought, hopping into her bed and closing her eyes.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, leave a review! Tell me how I did! :3


	5. Pour It Out

**A/N:** I was without internet for all of last night, so I was so bored. I decided to write the next chapter for this story, so...here it is!

* * *

**Chapter 5:** Pour It Out

Koby woke up to the soft sound of the birds chirping their morning tune and the sun shining softly through the window. She sat up in bed, still in the clothes that she had been wearing yesterday. She was one of those types of people who didn't wear any pajamas to bed.

Koby stood up and stretched, glad that she could finally feel. She rubbed her eyes and blinked the sleep from her eyes, smiling. Today was a brand new day!

A knock sounded on her door, making her jump slightly. Her father opened the door and she smiled, chuckling. "Hey, Dad."

"Hello, Koby. It's time to…eat, honey," he said, forcing another smile upon his face. She frowned, furrowing her brow, but didn't have time to ask, because her father had slipped from the room almost as soon as he entered.

Koby shrugged to herself and went into her closet, picking out her clothes for the day. She headed into her bathroom and took off the shirt that she had worn to bed, slipping into a different shirt: a black t-shirt with a white diagonal stripe. She slipped out of her brown cargo jeans and she frowned. Koby had noticed that she was wearing a pair of shorts. They were black with a thick, white stripe, and went halfway down her thigh.

Koby scratched the back of her head with confusion, frowning. "Where'd these come from?" she murmured to herself, reaching down to touch the fabric.

"Koby, come on!"

She jumped, hearing her father's voice. "Coming!" she called back, quickly pulling on another pair of brown cargo jeans. When you lived in Metro City, you didn't have much of a choice in wardrobe. All they had were black, red, white, blue, or brown clothing, in all shades. Koby herself didn't like the color red very much.

She hurried down the stairs, taking them two at a time and jogged into the kitchen. Koby sat down in her usual spot at the table, looking down at the plate of pancakes in front of her that Lanny had made. Koby glanced up as her father entered, a sullen look on his face, and bags under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well in a while. She frowned, opening her mouth to ask, but subjected to the pancakes instead.

She cut into one of the cakes and slowly realized that she didn't have any appetite. In fact, she hadn't had one for quite a while. She dropped her fork and her knife and glanced up at her dad, who was slowly gnawing on a pancake that hung from his fork. "Um…Dad?" she began. Her father slowly turned his attention to her. "I-I…" She broke off, remembering their 'conversation' before she had gone to bed last night. "Um…"

"Sweetie, is everything alright?" her father asked, swallowing his food carefully.

"Um…" She sighed. "I…don't exactly have any appetite… I didn't really yesterday either… I don't know what's…wrong exactly…" She paused, looking down. "And my b-boots…" She swallowed nervously. "I-I-I can…fly, Dad. They're rockets."

Tenma's fork dropped on his plate suddenly and she looked up. He was wiping his mouth with his napkin, and Koby knew he was about to say something. "Uh…well. Yes, Koby, I-I got you those boots. They're a gift from the Ministry… A gift of…appreciation."

She looked away for a moment before asking, "And what about my appetite problem?"

He sighed. "Well, that could be a number of things. You could be getting sick, or you could've eaten something that didn't agree with you—"

"No, Dad. Um…yesterday, I didn't feel any pain for a while." She looked up. "What's wrong with me?"

His eyes drifted off to the side some and Koby knew she wasn't going to like his answer. She sighed. "D-don't tell me."

"Don't tell you what?" her father asked, totally oblivious.

"What's wrong," she said bluntly.

"Oh." Her father began to nonchalantly sip his orange juice. As he set the glass back down on the table, Koby noticed that his hands were shaking terribly.

"Dad, you're hands are shaking," Koby stated, looking him in the eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, sweetie," he answered with a sigh. "I'm just…really tired."

She frowned but shrugged it off. He didn't look like he had gotten much sleep anyway. "Dad…um… I'm going to the park..." she said, getting up slowly, leaving her pancakes uneaten.

"O-okay… B-be back in a half an hour," he said, eyes trained at the ground.

Frowning again, Koby left the house and started walking down the sidewalk towards the park. It was morning, and there were a lot of people playing in the park this time of day. It was summertime too, so there'd be a lot of people swimming in the public pool next to the playground.

Koby was walking through the streets, hands in her pockets, staring at her boots, when suddenly she was knocked aside by a blunt force. She looked up at the culprit and gasped when she saw that it was Rhino. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt—don't know why he was, it was summer—and black jeans. His face was twisted with promise, but the bad kind. It was like he was silently threatening her.

She turned back around and hurriedly continued on towards the park. Koby had wanted to fly there, but she didn't want anyone to see her. It would cause too much of a commotion.

Once she reached the park, her thoughts were brought to life. There were at least a hundred people playing in the park, thirty of which were swimming in the large pool. There was a couple throwing pennies into the fountain off to the side and another couple who were walking their dog. There was also a family on a picnic—a breakfast picnic—talking and laughing their day away.

She sighed, sitting on a park bench. She would never have a true family like they did, never again. Her mother was gone, and she took her little brother with her. Her mother, Fable, was a lovely young woman. She had had dark brown hair like her, and she was like her: the tomboy. She had also had a feisty personality, but that was just her. Everyone knew she always joked around like that.

When Koby was five-years-old, her mother was going to have her baby brother, Gabe Tenma. They had already had a name picked out for him and everything. During childbirth, something had gone horribly wrong, and she died, not delivering Gabe safely. So they had both died.

Koby couldn't help but sniffle as a tear found its way out of her eye. She loved thinking about her mother, but it always brought sadness. Koby missed her so much… If only she hadn't died that day, then she would have a whole family like the one having a picnic…never being lonely again…

A hand lightly touched her shoulder and she whipped around, coming face to face with Nick. "AHH!" she screamed, jumping up and backing away on instinct, her hands out defensively in front of her. "Get away from me!"

Nick took two steps towards her, sadness in his eyes. "Koby! I…I thought…you _died_yesterday…!" he whispered softly, taking the rest of the steps that enclosed them towards her.

Her hostility died down as Nick came up to her. His remorseful eyes looked sincere, like he wasn't lying. "Yeah…I thought I was a goner too," Koby whispered, looking away.

"But you didn't!" Nick said, smiling. Koby was shocked at the friendliness in his smile. He never smiled, let alone at _her._ Or a _friendly_ one, at that.

"I-I… Yeah…" she replied, not wanting to give away her rocket boot secret.

"How didn't you die? You fell three stories! You should've at least broken a bone, or something—"

"But I didn't! See?" she interrupted, pointing at herself and looking up at him.

"I see that," Nick murmured, frowning. "I-I don't understand. Anyone that _I_ know would've broken a bone or two while falling from that height…or died…"

"Y-yeah…" she chuckled, scratching the back of her head. "Um…well, I landed on my feet," she lied. "A-and then I rolled along the ground so I wouldn't break any bones. I-I also forgot my bag."

Nick looked away, his hand on his chin in thought. "Hmm…"

"Don't give me a 'hmm'!" she said, her anger bursting outward. "You're the one who brought me up there in the first place! That's why I fell!"

Nick scratched his head. "Uh…well, yeah…but it was Rhino's idea. I-I didn't really want to hurt you… I—" He broke off, his blue and gold eyes shining.

It was then Koby knew what he was about to say. "Uh…I-I have to get…going now," she stammered, backing away and pointing her thumb behind her.

"But—"

"I _really_ have to go," she replied, turning around. "See you later."

"K-Koby, wait!" Nick called, running after her as she began off.

Koby was stopped dead in her tracks by Nick's hand on her shoulder. It sent a chilling tingle through her spine, making her feel uncomfortable, and she turned around slowly. "Y-yes?"

Nick looked at the ground again before returning his gaze to Koby. "U-um… I-I…sort of…like you…?" He blinked when Koby didn't say anything. "A-a lot…" He smiled slightly. "Rhino told me it was a horrible idea to like you, but…" Nick broke off.

Koby's eyes widened. _He…he_ likes _me?_ "Um…I _really_ have to get going, Nick."

He sighed and looked away. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything," he said, eyes full of sorrow. "No one likes me…"

She eyed him with sympathy. "Nick, look," she began as he looked at her, "I don't know what to say. You've…bullied me for as long as I can remember. Even _if_ it was all Rhino's idea, I've grown to become scared of _both_ of you," she sighed. "I have to go now. I'm sorry, Nick. I'll see you Monday."

And with that, she hurried off back home.

* * *

She hurried back to her home, opening and closing the door behind her. It had been probably at least twenty or so minutes since she had been gone. When she entered the house, it seemed empty.

"Huh…" she said to herself, looking around. "Dad?" she called, starting off towards the living room. "Dad…?" Looking in, she saw her dad lying on the couch, silently watching the TV.

"Hello, Koby," he said flatly. Koby rose an eyebrow and took a second glance at him. His eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying, and they were also bloodshot.

"Um…Dad? Are you okay?" she asked, coming to stand beside him on the couch.

"Koby, could you please have a seat?" he asked, sitting up a little and pointing to the lounge chair next to the wall. "I need to talk to you."

"Uh…sure," she replied hesitantly, sitting in the chair with a sigh. "What do you need to talk to me about? School? Is it ab—?"

"Koby," her dad interrupted, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you." He sat up completely, looking at the ground and sighing. He glanced back up at her. "I have a feeling you're not going to like the outcome of this conversation."

* * *

**A/N:** Oh noes! :o Poor Koby, you can tell what's gonna happen next. :c


End file.
